Connecticut US 6A

There have been several US 6A's in the state, all gone now:

Newtown - Southbury (1955 - 1966): Church Hill and Glen Roads in Newtown, crossing the Housatonic River into Southbury. This was originally part of US 6; US 6A was created in 1955 when a new US 6/US 202 highway opened to the south (which is now part of I-84). This US 6A is now unposted SR 816.
Plymouth - Hartford (1932 - 1942): At first, this US 6A followed present-day US 6 from the Route 72 junction through Bristol to Route 10 in Farmington. In 1934, it was extended eastward along the Colt Highway, South Street, and Brown Street to the old US 5 (Maple Avenue) in Hartford, taking over part of Route 71. US 6 at the time used Farmington Avenue. In 1943 or 1944, this US 6A became part of the relocated US 6, which now crossed the Connecticut River using the new Charter Oak Bridge.
Woodbury - Willimantic (Jan. 1, 1941 - 1967): The longest US 6A, this was created from the westernmost 59 miles of Route 14, which served Waterbury, Meriden, and Middletown. It was a much better route cross-state than US 6 at the time. In the 1950s, the state started planning an expressway for US 6A, which eventually became Interstate 691. As I-84 opened, the western portion of US 6A became less important, and in 1968 all of US 6A was broken into Routes 64, Route 322, and Route 66, as well as local streets in Meriden and Waterbury.
Coventry-Windham (1926 - 1942): Early maps show US 6A following the current "Suicide 6" through the Andover-Hop River area. Around 1939, US 6 was moved to the Suicide route, and US 6A moved to the northern US 44/Route 31 loop. In 1942, US 6A became Route 31.
Killingly (1959 - 1968): Now the Danielson Pike (SR 607/SR 618), this northern loop out of Danielson was part of US 6 until the divided highway section opened. US 6A was turned over to "secret" SR 607 in 1968.

In the early 1940s, there was a bit of '6A overload': the Woodbury - Willimantic US 6A was paralleled by the Plymouth and Coventry US 6A's.

Now only one US alternate route exists in the state: US 1A in Stonington.

"Years ago, Meriden worked very hard to become one of the cities through which US Route 6A would pass. There was a certain panache about being the locus of federal roads (US 5 also went through town; and still does, for that matter), and there was certrainly a hope that it would bring visitors and shopppers on their way from hither to yon."

Editorial, Record-Journal [Meriden, Conn.], July 28, 2003

United States Work Projects Administration (WPA). "Connecticut: A Guide to its Roads, Lore and People." Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1938.
"To renumber Connecticut Road." New York Times, Nov. 15, 1940.
Connecticut Department of Transportation. "Route change table.xls". Microsoft Excel spreadsheet file, received April 4, 2008.